DOCTOR WHO – “Into the Dalek” Photos and Trailer

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So, we’ve all had a couple of days to bask in/mull over/gripe about “Deep Breath,” but unlike the last couple Doctor Who episodes, we don’t have upwards of a month to wait for the next one. BBC America has released a series of images from episode 2 of Series 8, which we know to be called “Into the Dalek,” written by Phil Ford and Steven Moffat (congrats on your Emmy win, BY THE WAY!!) and directed, as was “Deep Breath,” by Ben Wheatley.

The official plot teaser is as follows: “A Dalek fleet surrounds a lone rebel ship, and only the Doctor can help them now… With the Doctor facing his greatest enemy, he needs Clara by his side. Confronted with a decision that could change the Daleks forever, he is forced to examine his conscience. Will he find the answer to the question, ‘am I a good man?'”

This episode will also introduce the character of Danny Pink played by Samuel Anderson (The History Boys). Danny is supposedly a co-worker of Clara’s, and possibly a companion or ally at some point in the future. Who can say? (I think he will be, otherwise why would they have made such a big deal about him?) Also guest starring on the episode are Wheatley staple Michael Smiley (Kill List, A Field in England), Zawe Ashton (Fresh Meat), and Ben Crompton (Game of Thrones, Pramface).

So that’s fun. Looks exciting. And how about another peek at that thirty-second spot for the episode, eh?

If, as many including Steven Moffat have said, “Deep Breath” was Peter Capaldi’s “Robot” (the first Tom Baker serial; very silly and very not in keeping with the tone of the rest of his first season), then “Into the Dalek” might well be Capaldi’s “The Ark in Space” (Baker’s second story and still in the top five Fourth Doctor serials full stop). I’m quite excited for the prospect of Daleks actually being Daleks, and one that’s so malfunctioned it becomes “good.” Quite a thing.

How excited are you for “Into the Dalek”? Are you tired of Dalek stories or can you never get enough? And how’s Capaldi’s driving so far? Let’s talk below, shall we?

Comments

Stephan Moffat is the best thing to happen to doctor who. Russell t davies ‘ stories were a bit to wacky and the plot themes were patchy. Moffat managed to take the show to a whole new level of epicness whilst maintaining the quirkiness of the show, but in away that is hard to stomach like Davies. I feel sorry for the next head writer that has to follow Moffat

Re: Moffat, “Don’t you think he looks tired?” It’s time for him to step down. Let someone else take the reins. He wrote a few great episodes, but that doesn’t mean he should be at the helm. I have not watched classic Who. I started with 9. Loved Eccleston and Tennant and quickly lost interest with Smith. Not his fault, but the whole Ponds/ River Song stuff was just crap IMO. i expected him to announce he was his own grandpa at one point. I want the Doctor and companion on adventures in time and space, not an alien/human soap opera. It got marginally better with Clara (at least the story lines did). I am very much looking forward to Capaldi and where he takes the Doctor, but I am hoping they give him material worth it. As far as the Daleks, there fine as a nod to previous Who, but it’s a big damn universe, time he goes to some completely new places and meets new civilizations…perhaps even some new enemies. Again, just my opinion.

Wow, Im sorry, so very sorry. I loved the Ponds and thought it nice to see the doctor in love and having a family. How hearts breaking for him to loose all of that. So nice to see that both of his hearts were rekindled by Claras spirit and having a brand new adventure… To each their own I guess.

I have to agree with you on Moffat. He wrote a couple of good episodes, but I’m not impressed with his producing. Poor Matt Smith got stuck with rather lame episodes. I’m hoping for better writing in the Capaldi era, but if Moffat does a George Lucas and can’t give up control to others who can actually write a decent script… then he may just kill the series.

As Who became this big global thing Moffat’s repeatedly built the stakes up higher and higher. And yet, in keeping with Who’s lighthearted, quirky, romping style you always know that the Doctor will get out of it alright. Put those two together and you’re left with the feeling that what the Doctor’s fighting for is the biggest, most ultimate thing imaginable… and yet doesn’t mean a goddamn thing because it ultimately isn’t important because he was always going to win in the first place.

I like Capaldi. He is older, but he also has an odd hotness about him that comes with being an older guy with experience. And goodness know that Matt Smith was NOT a looker!
Anyway, not the most important part. I think Capaldi will be a fun doctor and I hope he pulls off being a little more dangerous than #11. I also hope that Moffat pulls off some more long-range, complex story lines over the season. I really like the Silence and Weeping Angels and the River Song stories that took place over multiple episodes.
As for the Daleks, it’s probably important to show them and how #12 deals with them, it will be good to establish some more of his personality.

Moffat has said that the first few Eleventh Doctor scripts were written for a “generic” Doctor because no one had been cast yet. The happy accident is that it allowed a more natural development of the then new Doctor’s personality.

I think having just marathoned the entire DVD series of Tom Baker’s run has given me a much better appreciation of the skill and gravitas that Capaldi is bringing to the role. I also see the long term view of the Doctor, and the War Doctor’s comment about the youthfulness of Tennant and Smith in the last part of Eleven’s run, makes so much more sense now. The Doctor is NOT a young, handsome, happy go lucky, flirtatious guy. The Doctor is much more than that, and I’m thrilled to see the series taking a step back in that direction. The series is 1000x better written and executed now than it was in the 70s/80s but it has also got some more modern problems, i.e. the constant need of the younger fan for eye candy and someone to romanticize in order to care about the show. By catering to those fans with Tennant and Smith the show has set itself up for a difficult transition to Capaldi and I hope Moffat hasn’t shot the series in the foot with these mistakes. The meta commentary in the episode about why The Doctor Really Isn’t Your Boyfriend, directed at the squeeing cutesy fangirls offscreen by way of exposition from the Doctor/Vastra to Clara, was well executed. On re-watch, it felt a bit heavy handed, but I think that’s just because I knew it was coming. Strax stole the show as usual. Well done to all the cast.

P.S. The Daleks … yawn … again? Can’t they just fall into the void already and be done. Their form of evil is pretty much irrelevant in this day and age. Our villains these days need layers of complexity that the Daleks simply don’t have. The SIlence is scary. Weeping Angels, when done right, are terrifying. The plastic human flesh is scary in a body-snatching way. The Daleks are just about as scary as Col. Klink any more.

I was so so so disappointed by Deep Breath. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did. What was that whole thing with the Doctor not knowing who anyone was? I really didn’t like it, but that isn’t going to stop me from watching Into The Dalek

They had to spend the time to introduce the character and let the audience know what he’s about. Once that foundation is established, stories can follow, but, without it, you wouldn’t know anything about him

So far I’m torn. The Doctor doesn’t have to be young or good looking but he does have to be able to capture my attention. So far that hasn’t happened, it seemed that the ones who grabbed the attention in this show was madam vastra and Clara. The Doctor just seemed to be thrown in as an after thought. I’ve been watching the Doctor since the late 60’s and….I just am not feeling it this time. I’ll keep watching but it may just be a waiting game until they change him again.

Capaldi started off as quite silly and ended up as simply very endearing. I didn’t see a dark side, rather I saw a pragmatic and realistic version of the Doctor; a bit of the stodginess of the original Doctor portrayed by William Hartnell; I expect to see the clever wit of the second Doctor as portrayed by Patrick Troughton, just without the comedy factor; we have already been introduced to the sentimentality of the third Doctor as portrayed by Jon Pertwee; and the brilliance of the fourth doctor as portrayed by Tom Baker. William was all business, Patrick tempered much of his cleverness with a Buster Keaton scenario but never left anyone guessing as to what he accomplished, or how. Jon was decisively a gentleman and grew quite fond of his companions, especially Sara Jane Smith. He was also very realistic about Earth devices and their capacity for other uses. Tom may have dressed, let’s say uniquely, but then so was his thought process. He probed his mind for the thoughts of evil, then evaluated and calculated ways to correct the wrongs with as little wickedness as possible; and he still had Sara Jane Smith and added K-9.
These were the best of the Doctors, brought on for who they were, not because they might produce some love interest; but they did anyhow, because they were the Doctor. I’m not saying that a good looking man is a detriment to the show; but I am saying that turning Doctor WHO into a love story was not the original premise of the show. It was a nice chapter but it is time to return to the Time And Relative Dimensions In Space.
And the Daleks are being over indulged with airtime, as are the Cybermen. Where are the new worlds and new disasters that Peter Capaldi will need to face in his regeneration? Will he meet up with his Daughter? Could he have a Grandchild, and how would he cope with that? So many more questions, so many more thoughts, but mostly just grateful that I don’t have to wait forever to see the next episode. Thanks for bringing the Doctor home.

Daleks are blatantly evil, yet ridiculously designed. That poses extra challenges for any scriptwriter. To take on the challenge of the iconic, yet silly-looking villain and then pulling the audience in… that takes so much more work! When we first met Clara, only to find she was “dalektified,” I think it really turned heads. I’m exited to see what our favorite story-tellers have in store this time, and how successful or not it will be.

I don’t mind him and think he’ll grow on me… what doesn’t grow on me is the continual dropping off of companions… give me a Rose or a Donna who aren’t seemingly having one adventure then being dropped off for a few months…. I mean it’s a time machine and they’re young so unless they’re gone long enough to show aging no one in their own time line is gonna notice.

Five minutes in I was already sold that he is going to be great. I hope he gets a long run. He has the potential to be one of the darkest Doctors yet. Can’t wait for more character development, and more quirks i.e. eyebrows. loved that sequence

Capaldi is serviceable at best. Great in The Musketeers, meh here. the opening theme is shrill, tinny, and godawful. As for Danny Pink, I haven’t even seen him and I don’t like him. It’s obvious Clara and the Eleventh Doctor were in love, even if they didn’t admit it. Danny Pink being introduced as, as has been reported, Clara’s new bf, is just Moffat ramming the “he’s an older, different doctor now” thing down our throats.

Bite me! I don’t have to have seen something to be able have an opinion on it. I hadnt seen Deep Breath yet when i had an opinion that the new season wouldnt be good. My opinion was not invalidated once i saw it. Therefore by your logic your statement is invalid. I can have any damn opinion I like on anything I want and every one of them can be valid, such as my opinion that you are a sanctimonious assclown.

“Bite me! I don’t have to have seen something to be able have an opinion on it.” Uh, yes, yes you do. You can’t form a full opinion on something till you see it. Sure, you can have your opinion on how you think it’s going to turn out, but to form your actual, final opinion about it before actually watching it is frankly just retarded. “My opinion was not invalidated once I saw it”. No, your guesses were not invalidated from your personal perspective, because that’s all you were doing, guessing, you had no way of knowing what the quality would be like until you saw it.

Well, I understand how you could be “not sold” on Peter as The Doctor. I was. The first half of the episode seemed to be written more for Matt. It was after the eyebrows part that you can see where Peter started to come through. This Doctor seems to have no problem putting someone in dangers way, and I look forward to see where leads us. Now, I wasn’t sold on Chris right away, since 2005 he’s the only one. I think it was right around episode 8 that I finally just accepted what was going on and tried to enjoy the ride, and I have ever since. I also understand being slighted by Moffat moving Clara forward romantically so quickly after the regeneration. I saw her as having a crush on Matt. Matt, in turn, seemed to always be perplexed by her. It was almost like he didn’t know if he should be saving her or just letting her take the lead. The opening theme is different, but the tones they used are meant to make you feel off. Like something is just not right. That is how this Doctor is. He is just out of place. Everything is familiar, but just off.

It was his first episode! There’s only so much you can do in a first show, and most of it has to do with establishing the character. Give them time to develop him more-personally, I think this will be fantastic-lots of new ground to explore here that hasn’t been touched before

I liked those elegant clockwork droids on the Madame de Pompadour spaceship – good to see them back. I had to re-watch the first episode 2 -3 times to really get a feel for the new energy.. it was good to see the New Doctor settling into his character towards the end (after the whole disorientation of a new regeneration scenario).